Mechanical drafter Jagir Singh Reehal retires after 21 years

Jagir Singh Reehal

There will be a farewell coffee for Jagir Singh Reehal today at 12 p.m. in the MW9 cryogenic department building.

Jagir Singh Reehal joined Fermilab in 1990 to prepare drawings and designs of several mechanical upgrades for the Central Helium Liquefier (CHL). During the next 21 years, he helped craft countless mechanical projects.

Most recently, his attention to detail benefited the design and drafting group where he diagrams mechanical piping and layout drawings for the cryogenics group in Accelerator Division. Reehal will retire on Aug. 12.

“I enjoyed working at Fermilab,” Reehal said. “My favorite part was designing the mechanical components of the physical piping.”

Not only did Reehal help update the mechanical aspects of buildings at Fermilab, he also modernized the designs leading to the upgrades.

“He was responsible for upgrading the drawings from the legacy drafts to the digital versions,” Michael Geynisman, CHL deputy group leader, said. “Jagir copied and preserved all of the drawings for the CHL, so we could have a reference for future designs.”

Geynisman also credits Reehal with the designs of all CHL piping upgrades since about 1995.

“Jagir has always been very pleasant to work with,” said Jerry Makara, CHL group leader. “We had to make frequent changes when we upgraded the various portions of the facility. He was always flexible in accommodating our requests.”

David Richardson, the design drafter supervisor of the cryogenics group, has fond memories of working with Reehal.

“He’s one of the kindest, most gentle people I’ve ever worked with,” Richardson said. “Jagir gets along with everyone.”

Richardson also said that Reehal never turned down a project, working on anything and everything asked of him.

“Jagir is a patient man.” Geynisman said. “He’s very nice to work with.”

Reehal plans to spend more time with his family and at his temple once he retires.

“I want to enjoy my retirement,” Reehal said.

His colleagues voiced well wishes for Reehal and his future.

“I wish him happiness,” Makara said. “And I hope he enjoys his retirement life to the fullest.”

Richardson stated it simply.

“Jagir is going to be missed,” Richardson said. “I hope he’ll visit.”

—Ashley WennersHerron

Missing Dog

Missing labrador retriever

Madi got loose several weeks ago in Batavia.

Madi, a Chesapeake labrador retirever, escaped from her foster home in a subdivison off of Kirk Road across from Fermilab. Her foster family and rescue organization would appreciate any information that would lead to the recovery of Madi. Please email Fermilab Today or call the Office of Communications at x4406 with more information.

Correction

Correction

In yesterday's edition of Fermilab Today, the generator plaque ceremony photo caption incorrectly
listed AD and general contractors Barton Marlow in attendance. The caption should have listed FESS and general contractors Pandecon Inc. instead. The corrected caption may be viewed here. Fermilab Today
regrets the error.

In the News

Taiwan chosen as international antimatter monitoring center

From Taiwan Today, Aug. 9, 2011

A center will be established in Taiwan to monitor the findings of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, an instrument recently placed on the International Space Station, National Science Council Minister Lee Lou-chuang said Aug. 8.

“We are most happy to be a part of this international project,” Lee said. “It will help boost Taiwan’s research capabilities in particle physics and space technology.”

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, also known as AMS-O2, is a particle physics detector designed to operate as an external module on the ISS.

The AMS-O2 project has been led by Samuel Ting, a Nobel laureate in physics who spent his formative years in Taiwan.

“It would be appropriate for Taiwan to operate a ground-based monitor center for AMS-02, as electronic systems used in the program have been made and tested in Taiwan,” Ting said.

He added that Taiwanese scientists Lee Shih-chang, of Academia Sinica, and Jinchi Hao, of the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, played an integral role in the projectby devising an electronic data processing system 10 times faster than the ones used in typical spaceflight.

Launched into space May 18 by the space shuttle Endeavor, AMS-02 searches for antimatter and dark matter while performing measurements of cosmic ray composition and flux to better understand the origins of the universe.

Under the direction of the U.S. DOE, the AMS-02 took 16 years to construct.

2011 TARGET Program: The value of giving back

Just two week ago the 32nd year of Fermilab’s TARGET Program drew to a close. Although it is a busy summer, I’ve had a few minutes to reflect on this wonderful program and the opportunities it yields.

The TARGET Program provides exposure and guidance to high school students often from groups underrepresented in the sciences who aspire to scientific and technical careers. This year 15 students worked alongside Fermilab staff.

During their six weeks at the laboratory, the interns enjoyed hands-on experiences and project-based classes on renewable energy and telecommunications. The students’ experience was augmented by lunchtime talks, such as those given by former TARGET intern and Princeton University sophomore Colin Sylvester, on the college experience. Other speakers included Fermilab’s Cindy Conger, CFO, and Shelley Krivich, technical recruiter, about the laboratory as a business and the types of careers offered here.

This program is always rewarding, but even more so when I get to hear feedback from the interns and their mentors. Here are a few of the students’ thoughts:

“The program allows for real world exposure that is extremely rare to high school students,” said first-generation college-bound high school junior Vicente Lugo, who worked with CD engineer Gustavo Cancello.

“This is a great chance to see how different people with different jobs work together in order to execute a project,” said Anna Eng, a junior at Whitney Young High School, who was assigned to the Computing Division’s NOvA data acquisition group and mentored by Andrew Norman.

The experience is valued by the mentors, too. As first time mentor Weimin Wu, PPD, said, we need this program to encourage young people to participate in basic science, so that institutions such as Fermilab will have a bright future for generations.

I appreciate and value the commitment of time and effort each of this summer’s mentors made to develop meaningful assignments to share their knowledge and experience with intellectually thirsty young persons.

ES&H weekly report, Aug. 9

This week's safety report, compiled by the Fermilab ES&H section, includes four incidents requiring first-aid treatment. An employee recieved a minor injury to his face when he was struck by a steel towing bar on a car. Another employee was struck on the left side of the forehead while unrolling flex hose. Two separate employees were stung by insects.